Residents’ complaints about low-pressure and dirty water in parts of Malad triggered a cross-party protest at a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation ward committee meeting and outside the local civic office on September 9, with Ganeshotsav days away.
NCP corporator Ajit Rawrane staged a sit-in outside the BMC ward office while holding empty vessels to highlight the reported shortage. Standing Committee member and corporator Tejinder Singh Tiwana supported the protest and called on elected representatives from different political parties to unite over the water supply problem.
The Malad water crisis was raised during the ward committee meeting, where corporators demanded immediate intervention over complaints of inadequate supply, low pressure and poor water quality. A delegation was also expected to meet the deputy municipal commissioner for Zone 4 to discuss the issue.
Corporators alleged that local BMC officers were referring the matter to the hydraulic department instead of addressing the complaints directly. The response angered Tiwana, who questioned how the civic administration could remain indifferent while elected representatives were protesting over access to a basic necessity.
Following Tiwana’s intervention, corporators from different parties joined Rawrane’s protest outside the ward office. The group raised slogans demanding adequate water supply for residents and warned that the agitation would be intensified if the civic administration failed to take immediate corrective measures.
The complaints come ahead of Ganeshotsav, when water demand and public activity typically become a pressing concern for neighbourhood administrations. The report did not specify the number of affected households, the duration of the disruption or the exact locations within Malad facing low pressure and poor-quality supply.
The issue also reached the BMC House, where BJP corporator Anjali Samant raised wider concerns about Mumbai’s water network. Samant questioned how garbage, including paan and gutkha sachets, was entering water pipelines and meters. She also called for greater use of tertiary-treated water for non-potable purposes.
Samant cited Navi Mumbai’s use of treated water for gardens and construction since 2010 while making the case for expanded use of recycled water in Mumbai. Her remarks linked the immediate complaints in Malad to broader concerns about water quality, network maintenance and the separation of potable and non-potable demand.
The BMC’s local response and the hydraulic department’s proposed corrective measures were not detailed in the report. Corporators are expected to pursue the matter through a meeting with the deputy municipal commissioner for Zone 4, while protesters have warned of intensified agitation if supply conditions do not improve.
